About Plains FM

Each month we produce 90 unique community access radio shows in 20 languages by, for and about real people like you! Plains FM broadcasts 24/7 on 96.9FM via a transmitter sited at Sugarloaf on the Port Hills to Christchurch city, north to Cheviot, south to Ashburton, west to the Southern Alps, and into Lyttelton Harbour on Banks Peninsula. We cover the plains of the mid-Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island/Te Wai Pounamu. Our live stream is available from this website, along with selected podcasts (also available via iTunes) so we can be heard all over New Zealand and the world.

Since our birth in February 1988 our studios have been located on the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology campus, now known as Ara Institute of Canterbury in the CBD

We operate as Plains FM 96.9 and the frequency is governed by a charitable entity called The Canterbury Communications Trust. We receive annual funding support from NZ On AIR but also rely on airtime contributions from users, grants, some sponsorship/advertising and donations.

We have 5 permanent staff plus interns and specialist contractors as needed.

Community access radio is ‘radio by, for and about the community’

Plains FM is one of eleven independent Access entities operating around New Zealand and is a member of the Community Access Media Alliance (CAMA). We are part funded by NZ On Air, and as such are contracted to provide a specific number of hours per week of programming that provides for the interests of specific groups in Section 36c of the Broadcasting Act. 1989, women, children, youth, persons with disabilities, minority groups, including ethnic minorities and a range of religious and ethical viewpoints.

We provide broadcasting facilities for individuals or groups who would not otherwise have the opportunity to make and present their own programmes.

To learn more about access media in NZ visit the Community Access Media Alliance website www.cama.org.nz